Pizzelle: The Strange Origin of a Delicate Italian Cookie
One of the reasons I decided to return to Italy that I have an unending fascination with my Italian roots. Both of my mother's parents were born in a tiny town in Italy's earthquake country, near L'Aquila. I never knew my grandfather, Antonio, but he came to the U.S. in his teens and eventually opened a successful butcher shop/Italian grocery north of Boston. Towering slightly under 4'11", his personality was far grander than his stature by all accounts. My grandmother, Filomena, came to the U.S. as his wife in a prearranged marriage type-deal. She was the one who'd make pizzelle, earlier with an iron that had to be heated over the stove (like this), later with a new-fangled electrical version. My family has always enjoyed these cookies at Christmas and Easter, however, I've learned that they have an unusual history.
Popular legend has it that the town of Cocullo, Italy, in the region of Abruzzo, was inundated with snakes in the late 1300s. A priest advised the villagers to drape the snakes on a statue of San Domenico, which they did, and low and behold the pestilence stopped. A town baker created these confections to celebrate the end of the snake infestation. The villagers still revel old-world style on the feast day of San Domenico every May. (Watch this video if you are not squeamish. I recommend starting about the 5:20 mark, unless you like cheesy Italian TV.) The recipe is simple, and the cookies are elegant and delicate; crunchy and slightly sweet with a hint of anise. Great with a cup of coffee or tea.
We still use this recipe, which came in the box with my mom's Rival pizzelle iron in the 70s. Incidentally, I think we are still using that iron, too.
Pizzelle
Equipment required:
Pizzelle iron (similar to this one)
Ingredients:
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of melted butter
1 1/2 to 2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of anise seed or extract
Directions:
1. Add and beat ingredients together in the order listed (use the smaller amount of flour for a thinner pizzelle).
2. Drop by rounded spoonful onto the center of each the pre-heated (greased) grid on the pizzelle iron.
3. Close the lid and clip the handles together. Allow to cook until the steaming stops--about 30 seconds.
4. Raise the lid and remove pizzelle with a fork.
5. Allow to cool on a wire rack or towels. (While hot, may be rolled into a cylinder or shaped into a cone.)
6. Store in airtight container.
Rival Pizzelle Maker recipe booklet, 1970s
Makes about 3 dozen (varies with the size of iron used).
--StellaCadente*
Solticeart on December 09, 2009 at 01:51 PM
thats it Pizzelle's! I love them and make them myself..I have that machine and it works very well. its weird... on another of the aldente blogs I got in my emailbox yesterday the blogger had called them krumcakes... I couldn't for the life of me remember the name of them! so its funny you blogged about them today and refreshed my memory. its pizzelles! not krumcake!
Rebecca Turner
www.solticeartstudio.blogsppot.com
StellaCadente* on December 11, 2009 at 09:48 AM
Yes, I suppose krumcakes are the Northern European version, but they will always be pizzelles to me!
Rebecca Gaynor on January 02, 2012 at 08:32 PM
My mom started making pizzelles when I was in high school as a Christmas tradition, but with time being "crunched" in December, I've turned it into a New Years tradition. I use the Rival electric iron, too, and the recipe that comes on the handle (also above), but use both anise and lemon extracts in the same cookie batter.